Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

in
Song of Solomon
By Toni Morrison

A man in wings jumps off the hospital where an important baby soon known as Milkman is being born.

Banned

#72 on ALA's Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

1993  - Ohio - Challenged but retained in Columbus schools for "language degrading to blacks and is sexually explicit"

1994 - Georgia - Richmond County School District removed the book from reading lists and library shelves after a parent complained passages were "filthy and inappropriate"

1995 - Florida - St Johns County Schools in St Augustine challenged the book

1998 - Maryland - Complaints to St Mary's County schools referred to the novel as "filth," "trash," and "repulsive" and lead to challenges. A faculty committee recommended the book be retained, but the superintendent removed the book from the approved text list.

2009 - Michigan - The superintendent of Shelby school suspended the book from the curriculum. The book was reinstated but parents are informed in writing and at a meeting of the books content. Students who don't wish to read it can read an alternative.

2010 - Indiana - Parents of Franklin Central High School's Advanced Placement English class in Indianapolis were concerned about language and sexual content, but the book was retained.

Sources

ALA. "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009." Retrieved on 17 Aug 01 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.

Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, 1977.

 

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"Dances and Dames." Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Beloved by Toni Morrison

in
Beloved
By Toni Morrison

We read an award winning book about a ghost haunting the life of an ex-slave and then talk about ghosts in the library.

Banned

1996 - Texas - Challenged but retained for violence at Round Rock Independent High School

1997 - Maine - Challenged for language at the Madawaska School District

1998 - Florida - Challenged at the Sarasota County schools for sexual content

2000 - Illinois - After a board member promised to bring Christian beliefs to board decision making at the Northwest Suburban High School District 214, a number of titles were challenged and retained. The board member had based her decisions on excerpts from the Internet.

2007

Indiana - Parents asked for parental permission for student access for five books at the Coeur d'Alene School District

Kentucky - Pulled from the senior Advanced Placement English class at Eastern High School in Louisville after two parents complained of bestiality, racism, and sex. Students had to start over with Scarlett Letter for their AP exams.

2012 - Michigan - Challenged but retained at Salem High School Advanced Placement English classes after numerous considerations of district officials including appropriate for age, accuracy of the material, objectivity of the material, and necessity of covering the material.

2013 - Virginia - Challenged at the Fairfax County schools because parent complained for beastility, gang rape, and an infant's gruesome murder

2016 - Virginia - Came into focus during legislation over whether or not parents should be notified about school materials. Excerpts of the novel were read on the state senate floor depicting the novel as a work of, as Senator Richard Black put it, "moral sewage."

"Dances and Dames"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

in

Welcome to the literary deconstruction of race and beauty in this book about… holy crap that's what this book is about?! Evan might talk about the armadillos that are trying to sex each other.

Banned

#34 on the 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999

#15 on the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

1994

Alaska - Removed from a Lathrop High School classroom in Fairbanks for graphic descriptions and language.

Pennsylvania - Challenged at West Chester schools as pornographic

Banned from Morrisville Borough High School English after complaints of sexual content and language

1995

Florida - Challenged at the St Johns County Schools in St Augustine

Massachusetts - Challenged at Lynn schools for sexual content

1998 - Maryland - Challenged on Montgomery County reading lists and school library shelves

1999 - New Hampshire - Removed from reading list for nnth and tenth grade at Stevens High School in Claremont after a parent's complaint about sexual content

2003 - California - Challenged, but retained at the Kern High School District in Bakersfield despite complaints of the book's sexually explicit material.

2005 - Colorado - Banned from the Littleton curriculum and library shelves after complaints about its explicit sex, including the rape of an eleven-year-old girl by her father.

2007 - Michigan - Challenged in the Howell High School because of the book's strong sexual content. In response from the president of the Livingston Organization for Values in Education (LOVE), the county's top law enforcement official reviewed the book to see whether laws against distribution of sexually explicit materials to minors had been broken. The county prosecutor wrote, "Whether these materials are appropriate for minors is a decision to be made by the school board, but I find that they are not in violation of the criminal laws."

2009 - Indiana - Retained in the Delphi Community High School's curriculum despite claims of inappropriate sexual content and graphic language.

2011 - Connecticut - Challenged in the Brookfield High School curriculum because of sex scenes, profanity, and age-appropriateness of the book. Students in the high school have been reading Morrison's book since 1995.

2013

Alabama - In August, Alabama State Senator Bill Holtzclaw (R-Madison) also called for his state to bar students from reading the book, taking issue with the work’s language and content.

Colorado - Challenged in Legacy High School's Advanced Placement English classes in Adams County because it was a "bad book." A notice was sent home to let parents know what they would be reading and why and an alternate assignment was offered to those who wanted it. Half a dozen students of about 150 opted to read one of the alternative texts and received instruction on those works outside of class time.

Ohio - Challenged on a suggested reading list for Columbus high school students by the school board president because it is inappropriate for the school board to "even be associated with it." A fellow board member described the book as having "an underlying socialist-communist agenda."

2014

North Carolina - East Wake High in Wake County removed the book from readings lists along with The Color Purple after a parent complained. The books are retained in the school library.

2015 - Oklahoma - Challenged, but retained in the Durant high school library despite a parent's concerns over sexual and violent content.

"Dances and Dames"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/